Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Canto 7: The Science of God | Chapter 14: Ideal Family Life |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.14.39
avajñānātmatām nripa
SYNONYMS
drishtvā — after practically seeing; teshām — among the brāhmanas and Vaishnavas; mithah — mutually; nrinām — of human society; avajñāna-ātmatām — the mutually disrespectful behavior; nripa — O King; tretā-ādishu — beginning from Tretā-yuga; hareh — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; arcā — the Deity worship (in the temple); kriyāyai — for the purpose of introducing the method of worship; kavibhih — by learned persons; kritā — has been done.
TRANSLATION
My dear King, when great sages and saintly persons saw mutually disrespectful dealings at the beginning of Tretā-yuga, Deity worship in the temple was introduced with all paraphernalia.
PURPORT
As it is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.52):
"Whatever result one obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet one can also obtain in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra." In Satya-yuga, every person was spiritually advanced, and there was no envy between great personalities. Gradually, however, because of material contamination with the advance of the ages, disrespectful dealings appeared even among brāhmanas and Vaishnavas. Actually, an advanced Vaishnava is to be respected more than Vishnu. As stated in the Padma Purāna, ārādhanānām sarveshām vishnor ārādhanam param: of all kinds of worship, worship of Lord Vishnu is the best. Tasmāt parataram devi tadīyānām samarcanam: and recommended more than worship of Vishnu is worship of the Vaishnava.
Formerly, all activities were performed in connection with Vishnu, but after Satya-yuga there were symptoms of disrespectful dealings among Vaishnavas. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura has said that a Vaishnava is he who has helped others become Vaishnavas. An example of one who has converted many others into Vaishnavas is Nārada Muni. A powerful Vaishnava who has converted others into Vaishnavas is to be worshiped, but because of material contamination, sometimes such an exalted Vaishnava is disrespected by other, minor Vaishnavas. When great saintly persons saw this contamination, they introduced worship of the Deity in the temple. This began in Tretā-yuga and was especially prominent in Dvāpara-yuga (dvāpare paricaryāyām). But in Kali-yuga, worship of the Deity is being neglected. Therefore chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is more powerful than Deity worship. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu set a practical example in that He did not establish any temples or Deities, but He profusely introduced the sańkīrtana movement. Therefore Krishna consciousness preachers should give more stress to the sańkīrtana movement, especially by distributing transcendental literature more and more. This helps the sańkīrtana movement. Whenever there is a possibility to worship the Deity, we may establish many centers, but generally we should give more stress to the distribution of transcendental literature, for this will be more effective in converting people to Krishna consciousness.
It is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.47):
"A person who is very faithfully engaged in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not know how to behave toward devotees or people in general is called a prākrita-bhakta, or kanishtha-adhikārī." A prākrita devotee, or neophyte devotee, is still on the material platform. He certainly engages in worshiping the Deity, but he cannot appreciate the activities of a pure devotee. It has actually been seen that even an authorized devotee who is engaged in the service of the Lord by preaching the mission of Krishna consciousness is sometimes criticized by neophyte devotees. Such neophytes are described by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura: sarva-prāni-sammānanāsamarthānām avajñā spardhādimatām tu bhagavat-pratimaiva pātram ity āha. For those who cannot properly appreciate the activities of authorized devotees, Deity worship is the only way for spiritual advancement. In the Caitanya-caritāmrita (Antya 7.11) it is clearly said, krishna-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: without being authorized by Krishna, one cannot preach the holy name of the Lord throughout the entire world. Nevertheless, a devotee who does so is criticized by neophyte devotees, kanishtha-adhikārīs, who are on the lower stages of devotional service. For them, Deity worship is strongly recommended.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness